Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 312 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.83.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $154.94 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.76 and its 200-day moving average is $143.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.